Anthropic buys $3.4 billion of Caterpillar gas turbines

Anthropic's move stands out because the company has generally avoided buying physical infrastructure. Its S-1 filing in May disclosed a preference for renting: it is paying SpaceX subsidiary xAI $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 to use xAI's computing power, and it stated it expects to enter into additional similar services contracts. The turbine purchase therefore represents a departure from that pattern.

The deal's structure also hints at how tight the power market has become. OnePWR ordered the turbines a couple years ago but couldn't find financing to complete the purchase. Anthropic had planned to buy them from OnePWR but instead went directly to Caterpillar, the manufacturer. It's not clear why OnePWR was unable to secure financing despite Anthropic's apparent interest as a customer, but Anthropic likely wanted to keep the generating capacity to itself rather than give a competitor an opportunity to snap it up.

Anthropic is not alone in turning to natural gas. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have all announced plans to build massive natural gas power plants to power their data centers on site, rather than drawing from the public grid. That buildout could have broader consequences: if it proceeds as planned, U.S. data centers alone could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035. The reliance on natural gas also exposes hyperscalers to price fluctuations — one analyst expects that prices could more than triple by the end of the decade in some markets — which could leave Anthropic with a serious case of buyer's remorse.